'SEIZE THE DAY' AWARD

Entrepreneurs’ Conference

Congratulations to our 2018 winners!

KERRY and DUDE FRANK, whose vision for digitizing bulky airline pilot manuals took them from their home’s basement in northern Illinois to a successful business in Beloit, will receive the 15th annual Ken Hendricks “Seize the Day” award June 5 at the 2018 Wisconsin Entrepreneurs’ Conference.

The award, which celebrates entrepreneurial leaders who have been crucial to Wisconsin’s economic growth, is named in honor of the late Ken Hendricks, a Beloit businessman and 2006 “Seize the Day” award winner who died in an accident in late 2007.

The Franks lead Comply365, which revolutionized the flight decks around the world with its software products and now counts about a dozen Fortune 500 companies among its clients. The company’s secure, mobile enterprise platform is used well beyond the airline industry to increase productivity, mobility and compliance.

Comply365 was founded in 2007 and moved to Wisconsin in 2012 after the state offered tax incentives and pushed for the company to be a part of the Beloit renaissance.

“Comply365 has won the attention of investors and industry leaders alike, thanks to the vision and drive of Kerry, Dude and the rest of their team,” said Tom Still, president of the Wisconsin Technology Council. The Tech Council produces the June 5-6 Entrepreneurs’ Conference and administers the award, which has gone to entrepreneurs who have shown persistence in building their companies.

BACKGROUND ABOUT THE AWARD

The award, which celebrates entrepreneurial leaders who have been crucial to Wisconsin’s economic growth, is named in honor of the late Ken Hendricks, a Beloit businessman and 2006 “Seize the Day” award winner who died in an accident in late 2007. The award is not given for technical innovation but for innovative leadership – the ability to take hold of business opportunities and transform them into successes. Candidates for the award will have demonstrated:

Vision — Recognizing opportunities where others do notCourage — Vigorous, dedicated pursuit of opportunities in the face of risk and skepticismAdaptability— Rapid and repeated reinvention in response to changing marketsPersistence — Maintaining optimism and effort in the wake of setbacksResourcefulness — Overcoming obstacles and finding ways to fund growth

Recognizing the important role the arts play in nurturing a vibrant entrepreneurial culture, this year’s award will be an original art piece created in conjunction with Hendricks Holding Co. The award is generously provided by the Hendricks family. The luncheon is graciously sponsored by Marshfield Clinic Health System.

Past winners include:

2017: Zach Halmstad, JamfHalmstad is an Eau Claire native and a UW-Eau Claire graduate. He studied as a pianist and earned a degree in music, but it was his work in the campus information technology department that fueled his interest in streamlining IT platforms. The tools he created to efficiently set up and maintain campus computers later became the foundation to launch JAMF Software (now Jamf), which created the “Casper Suite” to manage Apple devices such as iPhones, iPads and Macs.

2016: Mark Gehring, HealthMyneMark is a serial entrepreneur who has founded and grown a series of medical imaging and digital health companies. A biomedical engineer and self-taught software developer, Mark co-founded Propeller Health in 2010, a digital therapeutic for asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease patients. That company has $23 million. Clinical trials have shown that Propeller Health users reduce rescue inhaler use and experience significantly fewer emergency room visits.

2015: Jim Berbee, Berbee Information NetworksJim Berbee’s persistence, commitment to quality and community involvement cuts across all lines. He founded Berbee Information Networks Corp. in 1993 and grew the company to 800 employees, 11 offices and two data centers in six Midwestern states. One of the nation’s largest privately held solution providers at the time, it was acquired by CDW for $175 million in 2006.

2014: Craig and Lea Culver, Culver Franchising System Inc. The story of Culver’s is evidence that innovation is possible in every industry, and that entrepreneurs can find different ways to finance a growing business. The Culvers’ persistence and commitment to quality have helped them stand out in the crowd. Today, the Culver’s restaurant chain spans more than 500 restaurants in 21 states.

2013: Fred Foster, Electronic Theatre ControlsFred Foster’s persistence and vision has helped put Wisconsin on center stage in the entertainment technology world. Foster continues to be ranked among the top 10 “Most Powerful People” in the entertainment-technology industry by Live Design Magazine.

2012: Kay Koplovitz, USA Network Kay Koplovitz launched the USA Network in 1977 and served as its chair and chief executive officer until 1998. In 2000, she co-created Springboard, a national organization that fosters venture capital investment in women-led high-growth companies. Companies selected and presented by Springboard have raised more than $5 billion over time.

2011: Bob Hillis, Direct Supply Inc.Direct Supplybegan as the nation’s first “virtual distributor” in 1985 and is a 100 percent employee-owned company that provides a continuum of products, technology and services in the field of eldercare.

2010: Bill Linton, Promega Corp. Linton is an entrepreneur who built one of the first true biotechnology companies in Wisconsin – as well as a commercial foundation for the state’s life sciences ecosystem.

2009: Toni Sikes, The GuildToni Sikes built the nation’s largest online arts retailer, The Guild, from a warehouse on Madison’s East Side. Her story is an inspiring example of an entrepreneur who built and rebuilt her companies to adapt to changing times.

2008: Michael Cudahy, Marquette Electronics Cudahy is the founder of Marquette Electronics, whose story epitomizes what it means to grow a business by rapidly seizing opportunities and marshaling forces in the midst of market challenges, uncertainty and risk.

2007: Jan Eddy, Wingra TechnologiesEddy could have walked away from Wingra Technologies when she sold it – the first time. But she didn’t, and the company (now part of Qwest) is stronger for her efforts today. The 2000 sale of Wingra did not go as planned for the company or its employees, and Eddy recognized that, intervened and re-purchased the firm at considerable personal risk to herself.

2006: Kenneth Hendricks, ABC SupplyA high-school dropout from Janesville who joined his father in the roofing business, Hendricks overcame skeptical investors and more to build the largest U.S. wholesaler of roofing supplies, with annual sales exceeding $3 billion. In late 2006 he was named Inc.’s Entrepreneur of the Year. Hendricks died in a December 2007 accident, and his family agreed in 2009 to rename the award in his honor.

2005: Robert F. Cervenka, Phillips Plastics Cervenkafounded Phillips Plastics 40 years ago and guided its growth in a multi-million company with 14 Wisconsin facilities. Cervenka faced several points in which he doubted he would make payroll, even taking out a loan against his family car in order to make ends.

2004: Don Weber, Logistics Health, Inc. Weber’s courage and persistence allowed him to start LHI in 1987 after the traumatic failure of his first business – which ended with a sheriff’s foreclosure on his home. Today, LHI is one of the fastest-growing firms in La Crosse and a model workplace for its employees.

About Us

The Wisconsin Technology Council is the leading catalyst for tech-based development in Wisconsin. It is the independent, non-partisan science and technology advisor to the governor and the Legislature. Learn More